Disagree. OKC cannot and will not win the championship, primarily due to the overall ineffective play of the OKC bench. This 2d team will not provide the necessary support to a world class first team to win a NBA championship or even the Western Conference

Why is no one surprised that you would say that. LOL

GS is a team that beat the Spurs by 30 and the Thunder by 8 in a game that was tied late.

Durant and Westbrook are extremely good. The rest of the roster isn't.

The Warriors are just a much better team all-around than the Thunder. Maybe Presti can work some magic trade or something.

Why is no one surprised that you would say that. LOL

GS is a team that beat the Spurs by 30 and the Thunder by 8 in a game that was tied late.

Sir, look at the box score. But, facts be darned. Remember in the playoff you heard it from me.

Durant and Westbrook are extremely good. The rest of the roster isn't.

The Warriors are just a much better team all-around than the Thunder. Maybe Presti can work some magic trade or something.

This is factual, but too many do not want t to deal in facts

Sir, look at the box score. But, facts be darned. Remember in the playoff you heard it from me.

So what? Are you thinking that the Thunder have a worse bench than the Spurs who lost by 30? You are being very myopic. As I said, nobody is surprised about your very positive statements about anything to do with OKC or Oklahoma.

OKC loses by 8 points after being tied late in the game and are on the road against a team having an all time historical season. They have had issues in some games this year but some criticism is nothing but sour grapes.

Durant and Westbrook are extremely good. The rest of the roster isn't.

The Warriors are just a much better team all-around than the Thunder. Maybe Presti can work some magic trade or something.

This year's Finals will be a remtach of last year's finals only LeBron won't let Curry off the hook and is hellbent on getting Cleveland a title and making sure Kevin Love stays in Cleveland. As for OKC, first round exit or swept by San Antonio in the second round is looking like their chances and Durant will leave as that is what the national media want.

One of Russell's latest.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFaJmW2sFUQ

Who says a player has to be on a big market team to cash in.

One of Russell's latest.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFaJmW2sFUQ

Who says a player has to be on a big market team to cash in.

Well hopefully by 2017 Thunder fans won't be burning his jerseys by the score and he won't be playing in Cleveland with LeBron and Irving.

As for OKC, first round exit or swept by San Antonio in the second round is looking like their chances and Durant will leave as that is what the national media want.
I'm sure you're right. KD will base everything on what the national media wants. :wink:

Being able to compete and winning are 2 different things.

Losing by 8 at GS when CLE lost by 6 (at GS) and 20+ (in CLE) and SA by 20+ (No Duncan mind you), we're at least comparable in terms of the GS matchup.

I'm surprised nobody brought up that Kanter did well. Double double and had a huge hand in shifting the momentum back to OKC at the end.

OKC matches up against SA really well when everybody is healthy.

This is factual, but too many do not want t to deal in facts

Thanks for the basketball facts, Zach Lowe. Lol.

Evrryone understands that the Thunder may very well lose to what is possibly the best team of all time in the playoffs. But coming on here and forecasting it after OKC played them tough speaks far more to your constant OKC negativity than your basketball knowledge.

Obviously, Golden State is a beast, but OKC was may have been the first team all season to make them go away from the Steph/Draymond pick and roll. That was encouraging. Also, there are some line up adjustments Donovan can make the next time we play them. For example, the double big lineup was absolutely torched in the first half. But that's what regular-season games are for... to experiment and see what works. Golden State is still the prohibitive favorite to win the title, but at least OKC showed that they can cause some problems. Here's a good read on some of the matchups from the game: The Pattern of Basketball: Warriors vs. Thunder (http://patternofbasketball.blogspot.com/2016/02/warriors-vs-thunder.html)

Great points dankrutka. The most encouraging thing to me is the defensive in the second half, how many 50-50 balls we lost, and how bad Serge was. He has been the most inconsistent Thurber player this year. When he has games like this a loss normal happens, but he can easily play better which could turn the tides of the game. I've been under the thinking if the thunder make a major trade then serge is our best asset to bring value and consistentcy back. I think we can easily hang with and take to 6-7 games a golden state with little changes.
And I don't remember who said it unthread but this team has made great strides defensively. Now they haven't put it together in a full game yet but for instance, Kanter is normally torched on pick and rolls so the team has been fighting over screens and dropping Kanter harder more recently. It forces a big to hit a long jumper which statistically is in our advantage compared to a guard shooting or getting a layup. Little changes like this don't show up on the box score but it's a long season so you have to address one problem at a time.

This year's Finals will be a remtach of last year's finals only LeBron won't let Curry off the hook and is hellbent on getting Cleveland a title and making sure Kevin Love stays in Cleveland. As for OKC, first round exit or swept by San Antonio in the second round is looking like their chances and Durant will leave as that is what the national media want.

Houston will make a run at KD, how ironic would that be. OKC would be known as the Development Franchise where players start and leave (Jackson, Harden, KD?, RW? Others. Presto doesn't seem so.smart.anymore.

Wow. You're a genius. Pretty much every team in the league will be making a run at KD. Of course, considering the fact that they will only be able to offer exactly what OKC has to offer, the only ones that will have a chance will be the ones that offer a similar or better chance to win. If Russ stays, OKC will be just as compelling for him as many, and more than most.

Besides, considering the near-certainty that he will be taking his one year player option this year, you're about a year early on this discussion. Unless you're trolling, which of course you are.

.
Let not your heart be troubled...

Our next meeting with the Warriors will be Saturday, February 27 inside the Peake. We were without a starter, Andre Roberson (DRE)--good defense & scrappy under the goal; yet we were tied with less than 5 minutes to go inside the Oracle.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors - Box Score - February 06, 2016 - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400828656)

OKC is transitioning under Donovan; we'll see the fruits of this labor throughout the remaining games.

Confident that Thunder will beat Golden State Warriors the next two games.

What blew my mind last night was we didn't make GS defend our bigs when they went small. Kanter was lights out and with Adams' developing post game they hardly touched the ball when Green was playing the 5. Big mistake. Then with Ibaka doing his typical disappearing act and being too busy to develop a back to the basket game (Adams has developed one in much shorter time), we were screwed.

I'm glad somebody else noticed Ibaka not coming up.

KD leaving for the Rockets would be funny in that if he thought OKC had no def, the Rockets are routinely on Vine and YouTube for the lack of defense.

Our bench continues to be our Achilles heel. We had only 9 men in the rotation (4 bench players). Hope Andre Roberson returns healthy.

Thunder did a good job running Curry (26 pts) & Thompson (18 pts) off the three point line . GSW reserve strength stepped up to the plate; they outscored our bench 42-17, only two Thunder bench players of 4 scored (Kanter 14 & Morrow 3); that was the Warriors' X-factor. Could have used a Vet like Collison.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors - Box Score - February 06, 2016 - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400828656)

Note: Ibaka hasn't been the same since his 2014 playoff injury.

I see a trade coming at the deadline for a 2 way wing player. We have a couple or three that could go for a contributing player.

My View From Super Bowl 50 | The Players' Tribune (http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kevin-durant-super-bowl-50-photography/)

Note: Ibaka hasn't been the same since his 2014 playoff injury.

Ibaka isn't having his best season, but I think he looks fine athletically. This is from last week:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3CJ10B_ovY

I think he's struggling more mentally with finding his role in the offense...

I would trade Serge Ibaka for Khris Middleton in some sort of package deal.

It's going to take losing a guy like that to get a quality two way guard in return.

I would trade Serge Ibaka for Khris Middleton in some sort of package deal.

It's going to take losing a guy like that to get a quality two way guard in return.

Who are you then rolling with at power forward in traditional lineups then? KD obviously can play more minutes there, but I don't think the Thunder want to rely on him as the primary four, right? Collison is great, but I really don't think he should see too many minutes at this point in his career, and McGary's defense is a pretty big liability. The Thunder's biggest problem is on the defensive end and I think trading Serge for Middleton makes us slightly worse defensively. We also then trade a gaping hole on the roster at shooting guard for a gaping hole at power forward. The only advantage being that KD can play four in small ball line ups.

However, I really do love Middleton. He's really good. And that's why I seriously doubt he's available. He's really underrated and Milwaukee should build around him and their other young players. The problem with all the trade chatter is that it takes two to tango and 9/10 times, Khris Middleton isn't available. It's a pretty intriguing idea though.

Yeah it leaves a hole, that's why I said it'd have to be a package and not straight up.

Let's discuss McGary for a second, will he ever have a home on this team? Who in the league would take on an offensively skilled but oft injured and defensively lacking PF?

This year's Finals will be a remtach of last year's finals only LeBron won't let Curry off the hook and is hellbent on getting Cleveland a title and making sure Kevin Love stays in Cleveland. As for OKC, first round exit or swept by San Antonio in the second round is looking like their chances and Durant will leave as that is what the national media want.

Your crystal ball is broke, you might want to go troll somewhere else...lol

.

Oklahoma City Thunder 122 - Phoenix Suns 106

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns - Box Score - February 08, 2016 - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400828670)

Let's discuss McGary for a second, will he ever have a home on this team? Who in the league would take on an offensively skilled but oft injured and defensively lacking PF?

All good questions. My question is, why are the Thunder drafting so many young guys when there's no room for them? McGary might be a useful player. Who knows? He doesn't get chances. It turns out that Jeremy Lamb can be at least be a solid role player when given the opportunity, which he never got consistently in OKC. I think McGary's similar to Lamb and would do well with consistent minutes and a clear role. But, who knows? Maybe he'll get dealt so OKC can find a shooting guard... as good as Jeremy Lamb. 😜

Maybe he'll get dealt so OKC can find a shooting guard... as good as Jeremy Lamb. ��

Oh come on, you don't really mean that? ;)

Oddly enough Jlamb's effective FG% is nearly the same, his 3 point % is lower, and his FT% lowered.

Lambo could always shoot pretty well, but his D was abysmal. Big liability on a team already short on good defense.

Houston will make a run at KD, how ironic would that be. OKC would be known as the Development Franchise where players start and leave (Jackson, Harden, KD?, RW? Others. Presto doesn't seem so.smart.anymore.

As long as Dwight Howard is at Houston and the cancer he is, KD would never consider the Rockets. Also, KD has said more than once he doesn't care to live in large market cities.

I'm curious as to who you find are worse? I thought OKC was bad too.

I like SA, NY, ATL, GSW, and CHA.

Hate to bring this back up, but I watched the Marquee Matchup on NBA TV the other day when Boston hit the shot at the buzzer to be the Cavs. Now those guys, especially the color commentator are the absolute worst in the league. They kept saying how the Celtics could get away with it but if the Cavs were doing it they'd get called.

All good questions. My question is, why are the Thunder drafting so many young guys when there's no room for them? McGary might be a useful player. Who knows? He doesn't get chances. It turns out that Jeremy Lamb can be at least be a solid role player when given the opportunity, which he never got consistently in OKC. I think McGary's similar to Lamb and would do well with consistent minutes and a clear role. But, who knows? Maybe he'll get dealt so OKC can find a shooting guard... as good as Jeremy Lamb. 

My concern with Lamb; it took him three teams to finally bloom. Most NBA teams will see some signs of progress within a 3 year span for individual player development. He along with Kevin Martin IIRC were packaged as apart of the Harden trade?

Lamb had a few games where it looked as though he was going to 'break out,' that never occurred in Houston or Oklahoma City.

Also, KD has said more than once he doesn't care to live in large market cities.

When did KD say this? I never remember hearing that.

My concern with Lamb; it took him three teams to finally bloom. Most NBA teams will see some signs of progress within a 3 year span for individual player development. He along with Kevin Martin IIRC were packaged as apart of the Harden trade?

Lamb had a few games where it looked as though he was going to 'break out,' that never occurred in Houston or Oklahoma City.

Most young players need opportunities to make mistakes and grow. If Lamb had a bad month (which happens to young players), he would be sent to the bench. I feel Brooks should have allowed him to play through tough stretches so he could grow. Instead we ended up relying on veterans that didn't help us much in the short OR long-term.

Also, saying he was with three teams is a little disingenuous. He was traded from the Rockets before the first regular season game of his rookie year. It's not like he had an opportunity there. Lamb literally started showing his potential as a role player in his first season outside of OKC.

Lambo could always shoot pretty well, but his D was abysmal. Big liability on a team already short on good defense.

Of our current shooting guards, Lamb is a better defender than Morrow and slightly worse than Dion. But there's a wider gap between Lamb's offense and Dion's than Dion's defense and Lamb's.

Player Comparison Finder | Basketball-Reference.com (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=lambje01&p2=waitedi01&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=)

It's not a big deal, but I think Lamb is a comparable player to Dion and maybe slightly better. With some opportunity over the last few years he may have even been better than he is now for Charlotte. Him and Dion are comparable players, but it just seems like OKC wasted an opportunity to find out...

Just read this on the Phoenix Suns forum - They hate their announcers -

Quote:
Originally Posted by itlnsunsfan View Post
I can't stand Steve Albert.

You are not alone. He is very bad and at almost every aspect of his job.

He seems fairly knowledgable about the history of the game but has no clue about many of the rules (example: two days ago he thought a player in the game that had stepped out of bounds didn't count, ball would be out based on last person on the court to touch it). He has a good voice but his eyes don't work well enough to provide the information he needs to utilize that voice. And he displays the emotional maturity of a very young man.

His sense of humor would have been considered puerile in high school. Although surprisingly enough, the last time I mentioned this there was at least one fan here who liked his humor. Anyway, whether he's the nice guy he seems to be or not, he needs to go. And soon.
Catlover is offline

When did KD say this? I never remember hearing that.

Several times, he was asked the other day about large markets and made the remark that playing in a small market has not hurt his marketability.
A few years back he also made the comment that Austin was more his style as opposed to a larger city to play in when going to college.

Royce wrote this for ESPN the other day from KD interview -

In today’s world with social media, you have been able to get a lot of endorsements playing in a small market. Is there a difference between small market and big markets for players?

Durant: It’s not different. There’s so many games on TV nowadays. Like you said, social media gives the game and different players exposure no matter where you are. It really doesn’t matter. To be honest, it’s never been about that for me. It’s been about the game and being a basketball player first.

I don't think he has. What he HAS said is that he likes living in a small market...which doesn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't also like living in a large one.

I don't think he has. What he HAS said is that he likes living in a small market...which doesn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't also like living in a large one.

That's how I recall his statement.

Now, there are a lot of markets larger than OKC. The big markets (New York, Los Angeles & Chicago); capable of supporting two NBA teams may not necessarily appeal to Durant.

He has been known to leave OKC for New York's Rucker Park (Harlem) just to play basketball (probably out of boredom).

Just don't see Durant leaving OKC; a lot will have to do with where Westbrook decides to go. You might see Durant signing a one year Thunder contract, who knows...

KD bought a condo in Miami. I think it's nice of him to say that he likes OKC (and 'm sure he does on some level), but I am sure he would rather live in LA or Miami if all things are even. That doesn't mean he's leaving because I think basketball will drive his decision. That, and he can still spend offseasons anywhere.

KD bought a condo in Miami. I think it's nice of him to say that he likes OKC (and 'm sure he does on some level), but I am sure he would rather live in LA or Miami if all things are even. That doesn't mean he's leaving because I think basketball will drive his decision. That, and he can still spend offseasons anywhere.

He bought it back in 2011 I think, but according to this Miami Herald article he sold it last spring.Kevin Durant sells Miami condo for $3.15 million | Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article20535381.html)

He bought it back in 2011 I think, but according to this Miami Herald article he sold it last spring.Kevin Durant sells Miami condo for $3.15 million | Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article20535381.html)

That's correct, but I don't think it's because he decided big cities (where spends a majority of his free time during the offseason) weren't for him.

If KD is not required to be in OKC, he's almost always in DC, LA, NYC, etc.

Any property purchases that K. D. makes in NBA cities will only fuel the rumor rotunda that surrounds his 2016 free agency.

I'm surprised how much credence that stupid tweet had where he thought LeBron going back home was cool.

You know what else was cool? Having an awesome point guard, and convincing a PF to go there before FA hit.

I follow the Thunder closely and spend no time thinking or worrying about KD's free agency. What's going to happen is going to happen, and it may still depend on how this season plays out. I'm just going to enjoy this season and not worry about the swirling rumors that often have nothing behind them... Thunder up!

I follow the Thunder closely and spend no time thinking or worrying about KD's free agency. What's going to happen is going to happen, and it may still depend on how this season plays out. I'm just going to enjoy this season and not worry about the swirling rumors that often have nothing behind them... Thunder up!

That's my view. If Durant decides to leave, it won't be money but a championship ring. He probably has already narrowed down a team if he's going to leave.

It wouldn't be about money, because he makes more through endorsements than his NBA salary.

Truly believe him when he says that hasn't made up his mind. Westbrook may have a lot to do with Durant's decision

Monty Williams wife was killed in a car crash. They have five kids :(

Oklahoma City Thunder 121 - New Orleans Pelicans 95

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Oklahoma City Thunder - Box Score - February 11, 2016 - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400828689)

NBA Regular Season Conference Standings - National Basketball Association (http://espn.go.com/nba/standings)

Monty Williams wife was killed in a car crash. They have five kids :(

It hit both teams hard. So sad. My sincere condolences to Coach Williams and Family. Breaks my heart thinking about those Kids losing their Momma.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant discusses signing a short-term contract | NewsOK.com (http://m.newsok.com/kevin-durant-discusses-signing-a-short-term-contract/article/5478465)

Who will be named 2016 All-Star Game MVP? (Timed sensitive)

POLL: Who Should Be NBA All-Star Game MVP? | Heavy.com (http://heavy.com/sports/2016/02/nba-all-star-game-2016-participants-mvp-most-valuable-player-poll-vote-leader-vegas-tonight-players-favorite-harden-kobe-curry/)

NBA All-Star 2016 | Feb. 12-14, 2016 | Toronto | NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/allstar/)

Congratulations to Russell Westbrook on winning the
NBA 2016 All Star Game MVP!
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/rnPQ5KFuChMTFrOUsFC7Mg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9MzQxO3B5b2ZmPT A7cT03NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201602142212799654310
Westbrook is a repeat NBA All Star Game MVP Winner

http://www.chesapeakearena.com/assets/img/thunder-logo.jpg

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z4dDhk6bQun3tyF3mKy2ntwkK8c=/0x0:2930x1953/1310x873/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48812009/GettyImages-510286512.0.jpg

Western Conf All-Stars vs. Eastern Conf All-Stars - Box Score - February 14, 2016 - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400829482)

Pursue Miami's Goran Dragic

NBA Trade Deadline: OKC Should Pursue Goran Dragic (http://thunderousintentions.com/2016/02/15/nba-trade-deadline-thunder-pursue-miamis-goran-dragic/?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email)

http://livinginthepast-audioweb.co.uk/imagex/misc/very-interesting-2.jpg



By coming to OKC, Dragic joins a team with excellent spacing that has to be respected, tied for sixth-best at 36.1 percent. This would allow for Dragic to revert to his natural playing style, attacking the rim freely as opponents would have to defend shooters along the perimeter. He could quite easily start at shooting guard or run the second unit along with Cameron Payne, giving Payne the valued experience that a seven year veteran can give...

...Hassan Whiteside would be a great replacement for Enes Kanter with better defense and a significantly cheaper contract (just under $1 million). He is averaging a double-double (12.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game) and is leading the league in blocks (3.9), giving the Thunder two elite rim protectors. He would back Steven Adams up at center, bolstering the Thunder’s Achilles Heel, it’s second-unit defense. He is in line for a massive pay increase at the end of the season which may be somewhere else in the league, but if Billy Donovan can keep him in line, he could make a huge difference towards getting OKC that championship.

Hassan Whiteside Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio - Miami Heat - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4262/hassan-whiteside) Salary: $981,348

Enes Kanter Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio - Oklahoma City Thunder - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6447/enes-kanter) Salary: $16,407,500

Whiteside is NOT good on defense. Same story as AD a few years ago. Thought to be good cause of the block count. However, he is kept out of 4th quarters for being bad.

Not to mention it'd be a bad deal for Miami as they're over the cap.

Whiteside is NOT good on defense. Same story as AD a few years ago. Thought to be good cause of the block count. However, he is kept out of 4th quarters for being bad.

Not to mention it'd be a bad deal for Miami as they're over the cap.

Curious, who in the hell is AD?

First, I don't think there's a chance Miami is giving up Dragic AND Whiteside for basically just Kanter's offense. OKC doesn't make a ton of sense for Dragic as I doubt he'd be content in a backup role. Having said that, if OKC is just concerned about this year, this might be a deal worth trying.

OKC needs to improve defensively far more than offensively, and Whiteside is a significant defensive upgrade over Kanter in just about every defensive stat indicates as much:

Player Comparison Finder | Basketball-Reference.com (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=whiteha01&p2=kanteen01&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=)

ESPN's trade machine gives us a couple extra wins with the deal:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=zbpboq2

Having said all that, there's (a) no reason for Miami to do it, (b) Kanter could and probably would block the trade, (c) long term it could end up just being a Kanter for Dragic trade since OKC likely wouldn't re-sign Whiteside, and (d) Whiteside is a bit of a personality problem at times and I'm not sure he's worth the risk. When Dion plays smart and Roberson/Morrow are used situationally in the right match ups, I think OKC could succeed with them... but there's a big difference between could and will when OKC will have to face teams that have it figured out already in GSW and SAS.

Honestly, I see OKC staying pat at the trade deadline. There's a lot of demand for what they need on the trade market -- a two-way shooting guard like Courtney Lee -- and I don't think they'll be able to get good value for what would likely be a minimal upgrade. I think OKC is just going to have to rely on getting the most out of the shooting guards we have, play them in the right spots, and maybe find some creative lineups by the playoffs.

Curious, who in the hell is AD?

Probably Anthony Davis ?

Probably Anthony Davis ?

Thanks, thought he was referring to a former Thunder player.